Distinguishing competencies of effective physician leaders

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the particular competencies demonstrated by effective physician leaders. Changing organizational and environmental dynamics present unique challenges to leaders in the field of healthcare. An accelerated emphasis on increasing the quality of health care delivery, containing costs, and restructuring the delivery of health care itself are redefining the very nature of healthcare and the roles of physicians as leaders. Given this context, the authors propose to identify the essential competencies for twenty-first century physician leadership. Design/methodology/approach – In all, 53 critical incident interviews from 28 physicians identified as emerging leaders at the Cleveland Clinic, a top-rated US academic healthcare institution, were examined in two ways: an existing leadership competency model was applied to each critical incident and inductively derived themes were identified through thematic analysis of the incidents. Findings – The predominant distinguishing leadership competencies demonstrated by the physician leaders included: Empathy, Initiative, Emotional Self-Awareness and Organizational Awareness. Communicating deliberately, getting buy-in from colleagues, focussing on the mission of the organization and showing respect for others were also discovered through thematic analysis to be essential practices of these effective physician leaders. Over 90 percent of the critical incident stories dealt with colleague-to-colleague interactions. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted in one academic healthcare organization, thus limiting the generalizability of the results. Additional research testing these results in a variety of healthcare institutions is warranted. Originality/value – This study identified specific competencies that distinguish effective physician leaders. These leaders actively sought to work with colleagues to obtain their input and consensus in order to enact organizational change and improve health care delivery in their institution. Importantly, their intentions were neither self-focussed nor self-promoting but strongly mission driven. The identification of physician leader competencies will assist incumbent and emerging physician leaders in their ability to be effective leaders, as well as inform the design of training and development programs for physicians.